Impact testing can be done in two ways. The first is by impacting the object under test with a force high enough in magnitude using a rubber hammer, sometimes called a bump test, to excite the resonance with in the object. The response is recorded by the use of a frequency analyzer. The frequency range needs to be set high enough as to include any frequency of interest. The magnitude of this type of impact test is not of concern. The frequency is what is of concern.

The second method is with the use of a calibrated force hammer. The hammer is attached to the analyzer and the impacted force is known and can be used to accurately determine the response magnitude as well as the frequency.

With the use of a force hammer the response spectrum can be correlated to the input force. This data can be input into modal analysis software to determine mode shapes and create a video of the exaggerated motion.